Similarities Between Julius Caesar And Plutarch

Julius Caesar lived long ago but was able to make his mark in history because of the writings of Plutarch and Shakespeare. Plutarch wrote about Caesar using knowledge passed down from past generations, strictly stating what he knew to be the facts. He did not write it as a story to entertain people, rather to inform them on the great Julius Caesar. Shakespeare, on the other hand, wrote his plays to entertain people. Shakespeare based his play off of Plutarch writing while adding his own touch to make the play interesting. He used creative license to fill in the holes and embellish the story. The events in Plutarch 's writing are very similar to Shakespeare 's play, however; the way Mark Antony is portrayed is not as closely related in his writing. Shakespeare based many events off of Plutarch’s writing, following the same story line Plutarch gave. Antony gave his speech, not intending to persuade the audience until he realized his words were swaying their opinions. In the Life of Brutus Plutarch writes, …show more content…
In the Life of Antony, Antony is seen as a peacemaker who tries his best to solve problems in a way where everyone is happy. However, in Shakespeare’s version; he is portrayed as an underdog who is only looking out for himself. Antony makes the people feel bad for him by saying, “But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man, that love my friend; and that they know full well that gave me public leave to speak.” This statement makes the crowd go wild and they begin rioting which is what Antony wanted. He wanted them to be angry and revolt against the conspirators. This is unlike Plutarch’s writing, Antony wanted it to be an amnesty and have the territory distributed equally. Shakespeare changed much of Antony’s personality to make the play more dramatic. He did not follow Plutarch as closely as he did on the events of Julius